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T O P I C R E V I E W

jabmd

The 2005 IMAX film "Magnificent Desolation" will be released at some point on DVD. How do I get an IMAX screen into my basement?

Robert Pearlman

The Digital Bits (by cS member Bill Hunt) reported on August 10 that "...coming on [DVD] 11/6 (for HBO) is Tom Hanks' Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon documentary."

garymilgrom

I saw a 3D version of this at Kennedy Space Center that was great. Any idea if this will make it to home release?

Robert Pearlman

Typically, IMAX 3D movies (such as Space Station 3D) have only been available in 2D when released on DVD.

DDAY

This is good news. I'm a fan of the documentary. I think it's very well done for a general audience. A little too focused on the kiddies, but I think that the segment on how an Apollo mission could have gone bad was great. They picked a really good scenario (essentially a car accident) rather than something implausible.

I think it's interesting to compare the IMAX documentaries to the better television documentaries. The IMAX audience is a little more general, with probably a broader age distribution (i.e. kids). You can compare "Roving Mars" to the two Nova Mars rover documentaries. All are excellent, but "Roving Mars" assumes that its audience is a little more ignorant.

Robert Pearlman

HBO Video release

IMAX's Latest Space Film Comes To DVD

Walking on the moon was humankind's most incredible journey and a feat experienced by only 12 people in history... until now!

Released just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season on November 6, 2007, HBO Video will give viewers the opportunity to experience what the Seattle Times calls "the most realistic approximation of a moon visit that Earthbound mortals have ever seen," with the release of Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon.

This DVD features personal voiceover accounts from astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong and input from other celebrities including Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Newman, John Travolta, and many more. It also includes an interactive bonus feature called Lunar Exploration Command Center that focuses on the Apollo missions — including NASA photos, a video diary, trivia game, moon maps and much more!

Narrated by Oscar winner Tom Hanks, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is an IMAX documentary film that will transport the viewer into lunar surface as you walk alongside the 12 extraordinary astronauts who braved their lives for mankind's exploration. Relive first person accounts and discover the wonders and trials of what they saw, heard, and felt during that magical time in their lives. This DVD will surely make a great holiday gift for children and adults of all ages this holiday season.

Additional DVD ContentMagnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon is packed with a phenomenal cast and crew and exciting bonus materials:

Includes an interactive bonus feature called Lunar Exploration Command Center that focuses on all of the Apollo missions and reveals newly released photographs, CGI and actual live-action renditions of the lunar escape, a video diary, trivia game, moon maps and more.

The DVD sounds like a good one though I am unsure why they would have people like John Travolta and other people give voice-overs? I would rather they would have gotten voiceovers from NASA people.

Robert Pearlman

During the film's recreations of the Apollo missions, celebrities substitute for the real moonwalkers' voices, including John Travolta, Paul Newman and Kevin Pollack.

Several of Hanks' crewmates from prior space projects also chime in, including Bill Paxton (Fred Haise, Apollo 13), Gary Sinese (Thomas "Ken" Mattingly, Apollo 13), Bryan Cranston (Buzz Aldrin, From The Earth To The Moon) and Peter Scolari (Charles "Pete" Conrad, From The Earth To The Moon). The voice of first man Neil Armstrong went to leading man Morgan Freeman.

jimsz

My mistake! When I read info on a DVD site about the release they phrased it as a "commentary" with John Travolta, Morgan Freeman, etc. I thought it was like those TV shows where some TV star offers a few moments telling viewers where they were when something important happened.

Cliff Lentz

I liked this movie very much. I even liked that Tom Hanks poked fun at the faked moon landing theories as well.

I saw it both in 3D in Washington and without the 3D effect in Philadelphia. It's a MUCH better film in 3D. I hope it holds up on the smaller screens!

dss65

I've seen the movie at least three times in three different cities: a dome 2D, 3D, and a flat screen 2D. All were terrific, but the 3D was indeed incredible.

It is a great film for young people, and was clearly intended as such. The most recent time I saw it was with my wife's 6th grade class, many of whom found it very inspirational.

When I mentioned to her that it was now out on DVD, my wife told me about one of her female students who came up to her and said that, although she had never been interested in science, it had made her feel like she "could do anything." I think that's a great tribute to the film. I'll certainly be looking for the DVD.

spaceman1953

I just picked up a copy of this yesterday. For those of you who have not yet seen it, this is incredibly well done and belongs in your collection. I cannot help but cry watching this knowing that for lack of a public will, we could be so very much farther in space than we are.

Dwight

Could someone tell me who is supposed to have said "We haven't developed a camera that can do it justice." I can't pick the actor's voice to correlate to who they were to have portrayed. For those with a copy, it is in the still sequence immediately following the black-and-white photographs of the mission crews where Tom Hanks mentions that they had normal names.

Robert Pearlman

Mark Cowen, the director of "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D" died this past Sept. 10 after a battle with an unnamed debilitating disease, Variety reported at the time.

Cowen went on to produce and direct the Emmy-nominated "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company" which was a companion documentary to the Emmy Award winning HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers." He was also the director of the Imax film "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D," which he produced with his partner and longtime collaborator Mark Herzog, and co-wrote the film with Tom Hanks and his younger brother Christopher.